Wallflower
by cbarreto
Summary: Kiyui Watari is a simple high school student with a not so simple dilemma. Living with her loan-shark indebted father, Kiyui is caught between the red lights of Japan and maintaining the fragmented innocence of her youth. To make matters worse, how do you explain walking out of a love hotel to the high-school "Prince Charming"? [YUKI/OC] [RATING 16 ]
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hello everyone! So excited for the Fruits Basket reboot, so much that I have in fact decided to write a fanfiction! Been a long tme fan, read all of the manga and of course, watched the first anime. And sicne my younger self had no intention of writing fanfiction for this, older me now does. please enjoy and of course, please leave any review/criticism you see fit. Thank you!

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[Wallflowers Don't Eat Lunch]

"I'm sorry, Ki-chan," her father's tears spilled into his mouth as he gargled on his apologies. Within his trembling embrace, Kiyui's school bag almost dropped from her shoulders, "Papa lost everything. We're broke!"

It was in that moment, Kiyui's high school days would be nothing like the mangas she grew up reading. After the grand announcement of the Watari families impending financial doom, Kiyui hardly tasted the burnt rice she had cooked for supper. While her father slept and drooled onto his pillow, Kiyui glanced sideways at the room fan blowing warm air onto her cheeks. The simple girl wondered what would happen to them onward. Would they lose everything including their apartment and perhaps…worse? She shook her head to rid of the unpleasant scenarios bombarding her thoughts.

For the rest of that night, Kiyui hardly slept. Her dreams consisted of mostly nightmares; unable to see or speak to her father again. When she woke, her father was absent in his futon mattress. Messy and undone, it appeared he left in a hurry at an unreasonable hour before her alarm for school. Like a bell toll, the buzzer of their doorbell rang insistantly, followed by a barrage of rude knocks. With caramel eyes still glued with sleep, Kiyui stumbled in her pajamas to answer. Hesitantly, she cracked the door and addressed her guests softly, "Hello, may I help you?"

"As a matter of fact, you can little miss," came a sadistic voice. Kiyui jumped on her toes when the door was forced open, revealing a man gowned in a red tailored suit, slicked jet black hair, and a toothy grin. "Listen here, your pops made a tinsy-insy little mistake. You know what that is?"

Kiyui shook her head, gulping as she took notice of his accompanying bodygaurd's built like Ox's standing just behind the not-so-gentleman.

"He took my money and blew it," the hustler gritted his teeth and smacked the door frame beside her. "Now, I'm a nice guy and not into hurting girls, but if your pops doesn't pay me back within two months—he's dead." The loan-shark furrowed his bushy black brows, leaning close and narrowing his shaded eyes devilishly. "Ka-pish?"

"Mhm," Kiyui sucked in her lips and bobbed her head in compliance.

"That's a good girl," Satisfied, the suited man adjusted his tie and began to walk away, stopping short before the complex stairs. "Oh, and one more thing," he raised a definitive finger into the air. "Don't think you guys can just pack up and leave. I've got my eye everywhere—so don't let your pops do anything stupid."

Kiyui glanced past the complex stairs and out into the neighborhood streets, catching sight of a misplaced black van parked along the curb. Kiyui swallowed hard, withdrawing back into her apartment. Still dark, Kiyui slumped against the door and slid to the ground exhausted. Her heart was bounding and tears had gathered at the corners of her eyes.

Looks like she was going to be late for class.

. . . .

"One, two…" Kiyui counted the insignificant amount of coinage in her palm. She sighed, and placed herself on a school bench. Lunch hour had just begun, but for Kiyui, it was long over. "I can miss lunch," she rationalized to herself.

Lifting her eyes from her poor hand, she hadn't notice anyone beside herself in the school courtyard. Yet, a few meters away, a particular classmate of hers busied themselves with a homecooked meal. The person was not of importance to her. What caught her eye was the fresh steaming rice wafting in the air, accompanied by a sweet yet savory curry sauce poured on top. Not to mention, the mouthwatering slices of beef perfectly placed upon the delicious mound. Kiyui gripped the edges of her pleated skirt; she had always been glutinous, and could compete with any competitive food eater if she chose too. Part of her wondered if the main reason her family had no money was because of her animalistic eating habits.

Unintentionally, Kiyui's stomach growled in response to the display and scents. The noise caught the attention of the individual enjoying their meal. They lowered their chopstick form their lips, and with a modest swallow they spoke, "Have you had lunch yet?"

"Mmm," Kiyui's vision began to float upwards from the bento box, up to view the actual human being possessing it. Kiyui stared hard; "Prince Yuki" was the owner of the lunch her stomach craved. Kiyu had to blink a few times to digest that an actual conversation was about to occur; "No…I'm not hungry."

Yuki paused, presenting a smile that was customary for him; one that she had seen given to everyone that he conversed with. It was gentle, no doubt, but carried almost nothing reflecting himself honestly…or so she imagined. With a careful distance, Kiyui became rather observant of others; though people were of no interest to her. Real people, that is. The characters from her manga and novels were much better company to keep.

"Are you sure?" Yuki's response came.

"Mhm. I'm okay—"

Another growl erupted from her stomach, contradicting Kiyui unfairly. Kiyui noticed Yuki's smile crease higher into his cheeks, giving her a little more than the previous one. It was more genuine this time around, enough so that Kiyui naturally felt the warmth in her cheeks and dipped her chin shyly in defeat.

"I guess…" she began softly, barely audible to even herself. "I am hungry."

"I can share some of mine with you," Yuki addressed her kindly, gesturing for her to sit beside him. He chuckled somewhat to himself, "To be honest, the portion today is bigger than I expected, so I don't think I can finish it all by myself anyway."

"Okay…" Kiyui nodded, lifting herself from the bench across and padded towards her classmate. Sitting, she humbly accepted the bento box offered to her. With a small 'thank you', she began to chew and chew. It had only taken a minute until she reached the bottom where only small pools of curry remained. She stared confused inside, before baring an apologetic gaze towards her company, "Oh, I ate it all…sorry."

"Wow, that was—" Yuki could barely conceal the amusement of his features and voice; quickly, he cleared his throat to continue his 'princely' composure. "It seems you were pretty hungry after all."

"Mhm," Kiyui replied, baring her warm eyes down to her lap and allowing the bento to be taken from her. Kiyui rose from her seat, garnering a curious look from her company. She turned to face him, brushing the scraggily short blonde locks from her face. "Thank you…Sohma-kun," a small smile spread across her lips. "Ah…one more thing."

Yuki blinked up at her, "Yes?"

She jutted out a pointer finger in the direction of his face, "You have rice on your face," Kiyui stated simply.

"Eh—!"Yuki flushed, painting his face a whole new shade of pink. "Where on my face?" He asked, frantically rubbing his chin and cheeks with his hands. "Is it still there?"

Kiyui shook her head, "No, you got it." She picked up her school shoes and turned towards the direction of the classrooms, "Good-bye …Sohma-kun."

"Good-bye," Yuki awkwardly raised his hand in a small attempt to bid his farewell. Yuki took a moment to stare down at his emptied bento box which Tohru had made special for him, replaying the strange encounter in his mind.

"What on earth…?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Wallflower**

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**AN:** _Thank you all for the follows, favorites, and kind reviews! Last chapter was a simple teaser of kinda of dipping my toes in the water to see if anyone was going to be interested. I'm so glad its been received well! I look forward to working on this fanfiction and completing it. At some point I will be making a tumblr page to post art work for my fanfic and of course, as a way to interact with you all a bit more personally. As always please enjoy!_

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Chapter Two: Wallflower's Can't Lie

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"Papa…how much money do we owe?"

Her father pinched the last bit of ramen between his lips. With a hard swallow, he coughed and rubbed his chest from not just the bland food, but the surprising inquiry.

"Ah, well, you see, Ki-chan—it's best to not involve yourself with papa's adult affairs;" pausing, he manifested a smile to his only daughter, "Ki-chan should worry about what other high school girls worry about. Let's see, like your studies, pop idols, school festivals…"

Kiyui lowered her eyes against the pork ramen they had bought from the local convenience store. Why would he not be straightforward with her? Kiyui's chest squeezed tighter, assuming it was a hefty amount. An amount that her father didn't want to mention; for if he did, it would reveal the truly crushing debt above their heads.

With only two months grace period, by the response from her father, it was probably one that may not be paid in time. Her palms tightened against the food tray above her knees.

She didn't want to lose her father too.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"I knew you were a smart little girl," a crooked smile played like a fiddle. "Kiyui-chan, was it?"

"Mhm."

Kiyui perched herself upon a finely pressed leather seat. With small hands folder against her pleated skirt, her honey combed hues lowered at the polished shoes adorned by the company before her. They trailed up the pressed red slacks, past a gold gilded belt, and further beyond the matching red fitted dress shirt. Her eyes settled against piercing blackslits, clouded by heavy eyebrows.

"I was kinda surprised when my driver parked outside your house called me, telling me you just waltzed on over and asked him to bring you to me," he rolled bemused at the sound of his voice. Wafting his finger in the air, an attendant placed a cigarette in his hand and lit the end. The suited man took a short drag before continuing, "You know I'm a busy man, but I was impressed by your guts that I decided to give a piece of my time."

"I can tell you're not here to beg stupidly for me to forgive your pops," he spoke further, crossing his legs. "So tell me, Kiyui-chan, how can I help you?"

"I would like a job…please," she spoke low, having difficulty keeping contact with each word spoken.

A rotten leer dripped in excitement across the hustler's face, "Kiyui-chan, we're in a love hotel—I think you understand what kind of jobs I deal with."

Kiyui nodded her head slowly, allowing her shaggy blonde bangs to tickle her lashes.

"Hn, you're nothing like the bitches I hire for these kinds of jobs," He rested his long face against his ring studded fingers. "You hardly have curves, no ass practically, and forget about sex appeal—the only thing you've got is that baby-face school girl look," he ashed his cigarette on the coffee table in front. As he leaned forward, he tilted his chin up and gave her a coy grin. "Which is actually what a lot of my clientele are craving for."

Rising from his seat, he waltzed over the where Kiyui sat statuesque. Kiyui bit down her lower lip to keep herself from mewling when his large palm pinched her cheeks together.

"It's something I've been wanting for myself too, so I'll cut you a pretty good deal for being a good girl," Kiyui tensed, feeling his roughened thumbs brush against her pink cheeks. "Your dumb ass pops owes me roughly 8,000,000 yen. I'll cut it down to 6,000,00 and throw in a tip when we're done here." His fingers dragged down to her chin, pinching it firmly and bringing it up for their gaze to meet. "Got it?"

Kiyui closed her eyes, allowing her mind to go blank; forgetting what she was doing, who she was with…what she dreamed of. Opening her caramel eyes, she spoke; "Yes...sir."

"Call me, Kasuma-sama."

. . . . . . . . .

Kiyui took cautious steps outside the entrance of the brightly lit love hotel. The night air whisked at her blonde strands, and she gripped a manila envelope against her chest. Taking the hem of her skirt and adjusting it further down her thighs, she gathered herself and began to trot down the path to the district exit.

"Watari…san?"

Kiyui paused in her steps. Her golden hues began to beat in tandem with her heart. Even the darkened pavement beneath her began to pulse, making her head feel light. Slowly, she lifted her chin, turning to face the familiar voice. Her chest knotted at the sight of her classmate; Kiyui felt like throwing up. Kiyui stood frozen in front of Yuki Soma, unable to utter a single syllable. With only her eyes speaking for her, her lips remained sealed as her classmate drew near.

"Watarai-san, I don't mean to be in your business, but why were you…" Yuki hesitated to further his sentence. Kiyui speculated, like herself, he was also at a loss for words. Neither of them had been in a situation like this before, from what she could tell.

The silence had become too painful to accept, and so Kiyui thought best to take this moment to make an excuse.

"I was selling cookies…" Kiyui spoke bluntly, enough to put a spoon to shame. She squeezed the envelope closer to her chest. "That's all."

"Watari-san," Yuki spoke her name with a palpable sigh. If it weren't for the circumstance, he would have chuckled at her plain delivery. "You have a right to your privacy, but I should tell you that you're not a very good liar."

Kiyui turned her face, hoping to veil the flush spreading like wildfire across her cheeks. With little subtlety and grace, she gathered more words without reflection; "Soma-kun...and you're here, in such a place as well, because...?"

It was Yuki's turn to turn a shade of pink. The tables had turned.

"I'm on my way to pick up a friend from their part-time job," Yuki replied, refraining from giving a complete stranger, regardless of classmate affiliation, more information than needed. Kiyui fluttered her lashes, and Yuki stiffened under the deeper connotation his words may have carried. The Prince brought a hand to his mouth, clearing his throat to muster a better explanation, "They don't work in this district. I thought I would take a short cut, but it seems it wasn't the best idea to come this way."

"You have secrets too...Soma-kun," Kiyui whispered, although clear enough for Yuki to catch perfectly well. "You're a bad liar as well."

"That's not—" Yuki's shoulders stiffened under the intense presumption. Out of a natural reflex, he had taken a step back in defense. "I'm telling you the truth."

"Mm-mm," Kiyui shook her head, raising a finger and pointing towards his chest. "I'm talking about what's in here...much deeper."

Yuki sucked in his breath before reacting to Kiyui's forthright speech; "I don't mean to be rude, Watari-san, but you hardly know me. I don't think it's fair for you to deflect the situation on to me."

"Mm...I guess not," she agreed slowly. "I'm not very smart but I watch. I've watched you Soma-kun. The way you keep your distance from others; all the confessions you've rejected, not participating more than you should in anything, quietly smiling hoping that's all people see..." Kiyui's eye became more mailable with her utterances. It was more than she was used to speaking, however, she had always been this way. Perhaps, this was why things were the way they were. "Secrets are all you know; maybe it's even hard for you to say who you really are."

Kiyui squeaked, feeling her wrist taken from her chest and the hand carrying the envelope held above her. Her golden hues trembled against piercing grey eyes, which were once gentle and rehearsed. Kiyui had caught a rare occurrence in this world. A dark haze loomed over Yuki's features; a face much different than the one she was given when he had shared his lunch with her.

She grimaced pathetically at the tightening hold, "Soma-kun...your hand."

Like a trance, Yuki blinked his eyes down at Kiyui's form. Speaking winded apologies, he quickly released her. Before Kiyui could regain herself, her hold on the envelope loosened, sending it into the night air and past Yuki's shoulders.

"T-The money..." Kiyui rushed to step forward and extend an arm behind her classmate.

"Watari-san—!"

Without any inclination, Kiyui pressed her chest against her classmate. Luckily, her fingertips pinched the envelope corner. With a small smile, tears of relief fitted at the corners of her eyes. "Thank goodness..."

A puff of gray mist erupted beneath her, sending her tumbling to the floor. Kiyui caught herself on her palms, wincing at the stinging sensation when met with the concrete. Turning over her shoulders, she was graced by a pile of clothes and a mouse sitting dolefully on top.

"Soma...kun...?"

"You may be right, Watari-San," the mouse began to speak, taking a solemn glance at his tiny appendages. "I'm sorry...for grabbing you the way I did just now. My body just reacted, not wanting to hear the truth. That and," Yuki shifted his beaded eyes up at her. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Mmm..." Kiyui began, still in disbelief. "Can you, Soma-kun?"

"Yes."

"Then...I can too."


End file.
